Oxford station isn’t very big, there are only three platforms, but there are regular trains to London. There are direct trains to London Paddington station every thirty minutes. Most of the trains only stop at Slough and Reading and take about an hour to travel to London from Oxford, but at rush hour there are also “stopper” trains for people travelling home from work, which stop at all the small stations. These stopper trains take nearly two hours to make the journey to London, so it’s quicker to change at Reading.
Trains in Britain are expensive. A return from Oxford to London costs about £50 at peak-time. For this reason many people drive instead of taking the train, especially when travelling as a family. But there’s a lot of traffic in London and it’s difficult to park, so the train is more convenient. From Oxford there are also trains to other parts of the country. You can travel north to Banbury and Manchester, or west to Worcester and Hereford. There are trains to Birmingham airport for international flights.
At Oxford station you can buy tickets from the ticket office or from the ticket machines. If you book tickets on the internet, you can collect them from the machines. You can usually find cheap tickets if you book early. While you wait, you can have a coffee or something to eat at the station cafe. There is a small supermarket where you can buy something to eat on the journey. There is usually a buffet car on the train, but it’s expensive and the food isn’t very good.
You can see on the departures board if the trains are on time or late, and from which platform they leave. If your train leaves from platform two, you have to cross the footbridge. Remember to keep your ticket to show the conductor.
Vocabulary
book = prenotare buffet car = carrozza ristorante change = cambiare cheap = economico collect = raccogliere, prendere conductor = controllore convenient = comodo cross = attraversare departures board = tabellone delle partenze drive = andare in macchina, guidare early = in anticipo, presto expensive = costoso flight = volo footbridge = ponte pedonale journey = viaggio late = in ritardo leave = partire on time = in orario park = parcheggiare peak-time = ore di punta platform = banchina quicker = piu’ veloce return (ticket) = biglietto di andata e ritorno rush hour = ora di punta stop = fermare ticket = biglietto ticket office = biglietteria ticket machines = macchinetta train = treno travel = viaggiare wait = aspettare
The trains from Oxford to London leave __________.
every hour
every thirty minutes
every forty minutes
every day
The journey to London usually takes about __________.
thirty minutes
an hour
two hours
an hour and a half
The trains in England are expensive, so instead a lot of people __________.
go by car
go by bus
go by aeroplane
stay at home
From Oxford you can get a direct train to __________.
Heathrow airport
Nottingham airport
Manchester airport
Birmingham airport
When you buy a ticket, it is usually cheaper to __________.
